The firecracker is a unique product in China. In ancient China, the sound of burning bamboo tubes was used to scare away wild animals and evil spirits. With the invention of the gunpowder, “firecracker” is also called “鞭炮biānpào” (“炮” in Chinese means gun) and used to foster a joyful atmosphere. The first thing every Chinese household does is to set off firecrackers and fireworks, which are meant to bid farewell to the old year and usher in the new. In the past few years, such an activity was completely or partially forbidden in big cities including Beijing due to fire and personal casualty caused by burning firecrackers. However, some Chinese thought that a Spring Festival without firecrackers was not lively enough and they burned firecrackers by stealth. So in recent years, the ban was canceled again. This shows that burning firecrackers is a very important activity during the Spring Festival.

在中國爆竹是一件特殊的產(chǎn)品。在中國古代，燃燒竹管的聲音被用來嚇走動物和惡鬼。隨著火藥的發(fā)明，爆竹也被稱作鞭炮，用來營造歡樂的氣氛。在中國每家每戶第一件事要做的就是放煙花爆竹，因為這意味著告別舊年迎接新年。在過去的幾年中，由于燃燒爆竹所引起的火災(zāi)和個人傷害在一些包括北京的大城市已經(jīng)完全或者部分禁止放鞭炮了。然而有些中國人認為沒有煙花的春節(jié)不夠熱鬧和生氣勃勃因此他們偷偷地放鞭炮。因此在近幾年，再次取消了這個禁令。這表明了在春節(jié)期間放鞭炮是非常重要的活動。